Welcome to the world of Classic Physique Builder! Find information and inspiration from the steroid-free, Golden Age of Classic Physique Building to help you build a muscular, powerful, symmetrical, healthy, and attractive physique.

Friday, May 30, 2008

Do you think that you cannot build mass naturally, without steroids? Take a look at Reg Park above. Reg built his mass naturally, before the use of steroids, and before the use of all the modern nutritional supplements we have today. Reg was 6'2" at 225lbs. He won the following titles: Mr Britain 1949, Mr Europe 1950, Mr Universe 1958, 1965. He went on to star as Hercules in 5 movies in the early 1960s. He competed up until the early 1970s and placed well against steroid-using bodybuilders half his age (e.g., placed 2nd in the Tall Class of the Mr. Universe NABBA 1973 Contest). He had plenty of mass, and yet still retained a classic physique! He should serve as an inspiration to us all! - Classic Physique Builder

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

In our last post, we gave you Marvin Eder's favorite arm routine for breaking through "ruts." One of the exercises he recommends is the "Zeller Curl." These days, most bodybuilders probably don't know what a "Zeller Curl" is. So here is some background. This curl is named after Art Zeller - the famous physique photographer - who in his early years, was a classic physique builder (i.e., a bodybuilder before the advent of steroids) who popularized this curl.

"Zeller Curl. This curl is named after Artie Zeller who popularized it some years back, and is now widely used by New York City bodybuilders. Take a heavy dumbbell, heavier than you can curl to the shoulder in good form, and swing this weight to the shoulder. Hold the elbow against the side, on the hip if possible. Now, lower the weight, leaning back while doing so, fighting the downward movement of the weight every inch of the way. When it is down all the way, swing it up to the shoulder again and repeat... It may take a little practice to master this movement, but since Marvin feels that it is one of the very best, it will be worth a little special attention."

So there you have it - the "Zeller Curl" - another gold nugget from the Golden Era of Classic Physique Builders! - Classic Physique Builder

Saturday, May 3, 2008

Marvin Eder (Mr New York City 1949, Mr Eastern America 1950) was a young, rising star in the early 1950s world of pre-steroid bodybuilding. He was known for his 18 1/2" arms (an impressive accomplishment back then) and great strength. At the age of 19 (at 5' 8" and 203 lbs), he benched 430 lbs, did standing presses with 285 lbs, and did curls with 100 lb dumbbells. This clearly demonstrates that one can attain a classic physique that is both aesthetic, yet powerful.

In the December 1951 issue of Joe Weider's Your Physique Magazine, he was interviewed about his favorite arm routine for breaking through ruts and making further gains. Keep in mind that this is/was a routine for advanced, natural bodybuilders (lets say with more than 2 years of training) who hit a rut in making gains in their arm development or perhaps needed to undertake some arm specialization in order to bring them up in proportion to the rest of the body. This arm routine hits the biceps and triceps from 3 different angles. Here it is in a nutshell:

Biceps:

1. Standing Barbell Curls - 3 sets, 10 reps (5 strict, 5 cheating)

2. Zeller Curls - 3 sets, 10 reps

3. Bent-Over Concentration Curls - 3 sets, 10 reps

Triceps:

1. Lying Barbell Triceps Curls - 3 sets, 10 reps

2. Seated Triceps Curls - 3 sets, 10 reps

3. Rear Triceps Extensions - 3 sets, 10 reps

That's a total of 9 sets for biceps, 9 for triceps. Remember, this was for the advanced bodybuilder.

What if you are in a rut, but you are an intermediate bodybuilder? If so, then this routine can be modified with good effects as follows:

If you have more than 1 year, but less than 2 years of consistent training - perform 2 sets of each of the above exercises. If you have more than 6 months, but less than 1 year of training - perform 1 set of each exercise. Total beginners with less than 6 months of training should not try this rountine. - Classic Physique Builder

Classic Physique Builder

The mission of Classic Physique Builder (CPB Blog and CPBzine) is to: (1) promote the ideal of developing a classic physique, (2) demonstrate what kind of body can be developed naturally,(3) preserve & learn from the history of the pre-roid Golden Age of Classic Physique Building, (4) serve as a source of education & inspiration to all; and (5) help initiate a Renaissance of Classic Physique Building in the 21st Century!

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About Us & Our Mission

Hi and Welcome to CPB!

I'm Anthony Miller - a PhD in anatomy & cell biology, researcher, scientist, academician, pre-roid Golden Age aficionado, and aspiring classic physique builder. I founded CPB because I got tired of waiting for someone else to do it!

For those of us who have no intention of using drugs to build our physiques, it is nearly impossible to get good, muscle-building info that works for non-drug users or inspiring images of classic physique champs from the extreme, steroid-oriented muscle mags of today. Fortunately, there is a vast wealth of pre-roid, Golden Age information from the 1940s and 50s that we can use to build Golden Age physiques that are drug-free, healthy, muscular, powerful, symmetrical, and attractive!

It is the mission of Classic Physique Builder (CPBBlog and CPBzine) to make pre-roid, Golden Age bodybuilding information available again to all, so that we are no longer held captive to the extremism of the modern muscle mags and so that a new, 21st Century Renaissance of Classic Physique Building can arise!

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